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Sunday, 31 December 2017

This week's Illustration Friday prompt is map. A good one for the last week of the year, actually. Where have you been, where are you headed... a person could get really philosophical.

I literally just doodled.

Sometimes my brain just likes to make curved lines. Call it a mind map in a way, although it's not usually what's meant by the term. Curved, branching lines have made my brain happy for a long time. These ones were done on plain old manila with Tritone pencils (2 per page), which is why there are colour variations. They were also done in a darkened room while half-watching television, so the only really conscious thing about them was to try to fill the white (well, yellow) space.

Sorry for the dodgy scans, but the paper was just a little too big for the scanner bed, and cropping would have just cut things off even more. Ah well, call it one last bit of "excuse my mess" for the last day of the year.

Tuesday, 18 April 2017

This week's Illustration Friday prompt is fable. My illogical draft was just quick, but the story is fun.

I wish I could remember where I heard it, though. If you have an attribution, please tell me.

A long time ago there was a stonecutter. The people of the village depended on him for stone for their houses and gardens. He was good at his job but it was hard work, and many times as he worked away with his chisel he'd wish he was anything but what he was.

One day as he chiselled at a stone, the sun was beating down so bright and so hot that the stonecutter cried out, "oh, how I wish I was the sun. I would shine down brightly until everyone would see that I was the most powerful thing in the universe. Then I would be happy."

Well, it just so happened that his guiding spirit had been watching and listening. It agreed to grant the stonecutter his desire, and the next thing he knew the stonecutter was the sun. He shone down on the people of the village to let them know it was time to work. He shone on the crops to make them grow. He warmed the whole earth with his light and gloried in his power.

Then one day a cloud drifted over in front of the sun. Try as he might, the sun couldn't make his light penetrate that cloud. The sun cried out, "oh, how I wish I was a cloud. I would travel wherever I wanted to and shade out the sun until everyone would see that I was the most powerful thing in the universe. Then I would be happy."

The guiding spirit heard the sun's wish, and the next thing he knew the sun was a cloud. He drifted happily through the sky, casting his shade wherever he desired. He danced with the wind and gloried in his power.

Then one day the cloud was joined by other clouds until they became a big, dark mass. Water started falling out of the cloud and joining the river below. The rushing river took the cloud water away as fast as it fell. Seeing this, the cloud cried, "oh, how I wish I was the river. I would travel over all the lands sweeping everything before me until everyone would see that I was the most powerful thing in the universe. Then I would be happy."

The guiding spirit heard the cloud's wish, and the next thing he knew the cloud was a river. He rushed headlong over the lands, carving steep banks and carrying along anything he fancied. He roared to the skies and gloried in his power.

Then one day he saw his path blocked by an enormous boulder. The rock caught up the water and made it double back on itself, causing the land to flood. Feeling this, the river cried, "oh, how I wish I was the boulder. I'd stand immobile and block anything coming my way until everyone would see that I was the most powerful thing in the universe. Then I would be happy."

The guiding spirit heard the river's wish, and the next thing he knew the river was a boulder. He stood gravely, impervious to sun, wind or rain. He laughed at the elements and gloried in his power.

Then one day he felt himself cracking and breaking apart. The boulder was shocked and cried out, "oh, how I wish I could be the thing that cracks a boulder. I would certainly, without a doubt, be the most powerful thing in the universe. Then I would be happy."

The guiding spirit heard the boulder's wish, and the next thing he knew the boulder...

Sunday, 22 January 2017

I've already submitted once for Illustration Friday's word swirl this week, but since I had time this morning I thought I'd add a quick shell doodle. I have a feeling that I'll be getting out my model shells tonight (yes, I have shells that do modelling) and doodle a few more, because shells are fun.

This one was mostly imaginary, as anyone who knows their gastropods (which, actually, I don't. I'm a mammalogist) probably knew immediately. The pens are Stabilo's Point 88, which I picked up at Christmas to force myself to stop thinking only in black monochrome when I'm playing with pens. And why exactly these colours? Well, if you figure that one out, let me know. I'm curious too.

The wrist is still not as stable as I'd like it to be, but I miss pen work so I'm going to get back to it anyway. If it's shaky and people consider that a stylistic choice, I'm fine with it.

The Mutterer

I've been meaning to change my profile for a while. Into a sock puppet, maybe...

Ok, about me. I'm a naturalist/interpreter and I work, oddly enough, at a nature centre. I doodle a bit but I'm not an artist, I've been known to perform onstage in the past but not so much anymore, and I really wish that idiots weren't allowed to drive pick-up trucks.